The former deputy commander of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division has been charged with numerous violations of military law, including forcible sodomy, the Army said Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair has been charged with "forcible sodomy, wrongful sexual conduct, attempted violation of an order, violations of regulations by wrongfully engaging in inappropriate relationships, misusing a government travel charge card" and several other counts, said Col. Kevin Arata, a spokesman for the Fort Bragg-based 82nd Airborne Division, which since its creation during World War I has been one of the most celebrated units in the Army.

Specifics of the alleged crimes were not released. It could not immediately be determined whether Sinclair has an attorney.

Army spokesman George Wright said Sinclair currently is still on active duty, serving as a special assistant to the commander of the 18th Airborne Corps, and is not restricted to base. As is standard procedure in military criminal matters, he continues to be paid his salary.

Sinclair, who was sent home to FortBragg in North Carolina from Afghanistan earlier this year, will next face the military equivalent of a preliminary hearing, a so-called Article 32.

That's a hearing in which both the prosecutor in the case and the defendant's lawyer can present witnesses and evidence. At the end of the session the "investigating officer," who acts as a judge in the hearing, will make a recommendation as to whether a defendant should face court martial. That recommendation goes to the "appointing authority," an officer higher up the chain of command from the defendant.

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Hey idiot, the 82nd airborn is the All American Division. The 101st was know by "chicken men" during the vietnam war. Because the Viet cong would always tell each other to run if you encounter the chicken men, they got that nickname. They didn't know what a eagle was. do alittle research before you sound like a jack A**.

Look at the silly dims bawling again. I'd be mad too if I was 50 and living in mom's basement haha

September 28, 2012 at 6:49 am |

armyrabbit

Because you just repeat whatever news you happen to see for the week, let me educate you. Catching rapists is a national problem, not just a military one. Congress just likes to pick on the military, because we actually try to fix problems. If they really cared about reducing rape, they would try to fix the problem in the civilian world first. But, civilians don't have a scence of duty to follow orders from congress.
http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500690_162-5590118.html
http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/reporting-rates

I wanted to thank all branches of the armed forces. With all these stories in the news, they have helped make me a happier mom. How? My son had wanted to join the navy and now he is so disgusted with the treatment of EACH OTHER in the services, he no longer wants to be associated with any of them. I had been worried as any parent would be of a child joining the armed forces.

And to the Armed Forces Personnel that behave themselves: thank you for being simple decent human beings who are trying to do a job and are having to struggle to stay in their positions. You are appreciated.

You missed the point (as expected). He doesn't want to be serving next to you. But your arrogant ignorance can't admit to0 that.

September 28, 2012 at 7:41 am |

Pnm9pnm

We give all achanes to do what that part of them selfs that can't be beat needs dune as that Justus whith in it is in all life as true all life is breathing in some way or another that is yet c no book.so no book is not true that lies to try to say it.pnm.

Alleged criminal behavior of one brigadier general cannot justify bashing all soldiers.Civilian authority makes a decision to go to war.Soldiers are trained to obey orders.Abuse of authority must be punished.

innocent untill proven guilty-This is the focus of justice.
Can we allow /accept all countries carrying out crossborder executions by drones?Is the pretext of "terrorism"enough to unleash global chaos and summary executions from space?Many countries will have drone technology in future.Is this the new paradigm for international justice!

When will the king and queen of yellow journalism, TMZ & CNN, Admit the truth that they allowed Obama to destroy the military to protect their g-a-y support Agenda (did not their poster boy Anderson just proudly proclaim he is a Rump Ranger)? . They wanted to divert attention from the damage Rump Rangers have done to national security because they worship the culture that lusts for little Boys, sick Pervs.

This guy is one of the reason's why our Military needs more civilian oversight. The U.S. has poured so much money in to our military Colonel's and Generals think they are gods. The Deparment of Defense has so many vendors spending billions of our tax dollars just to lobby for more weapons of all types more supplies and defenses of all types. The fact is our department of defense is a blight on this planet. I work for the DOD in a private industry, I am thankful for my job but this whole MIC is a stupid jobs program no different than the some of the CCC or other programs Roosevelt came up with during the depression. The only difference is our government with our tax money now invests in ways to kill people around the globe rather than how to educate, feed, care for, explore new horizons, develope new energy sources etc. The military is essential to our countries strength and leadership globally but it should not be ALL we lead at. We could cut our DOD budget in half and still be 5X bigger than any of the top 10 countries budget combined.

Uh, the Commander in chief, the president, is a civilian. As is the SECDEF and the SECARMY. All of their assitants are as well. There's plenty of oversight. What we need to do is make sure the General is not allowed to retire if he is, in fact, guilty. But, as usually happens with senior personnel, they retire at the next lower grade instead of doing time. The enlisted personnel would be in jail.

September 28, 2012 at 8:08 am |

Iraq and Afghan vet

More civilian oversight? Like the Political Commissars in the Soviet Union? I don't think any amount of civilian oversight would have stopped this from happening. This happens in the civilian coorporate world, amongst politicians and amongst our DoD civlians who are supposed to be overseeing the military. The difference is that there are greater legal consequences for a military member doing this.

As far as halfing our budget and still staying ahead of any of the top 10 countries, I believe you need to do the math on that again. The next 10 countries in line would equal our current defense budget. Countries like China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Nice garden spots, perhaps you'd be more comfortable there?

I find it rather hypocritical of you that you work for DoD, yet decry their expenditures and moan for more civilian oversight. Perhaps you ought to stick to your principals and quit? I will remind you though, it is civilian oversight that turned the military into the big budget beast that it is. Civilians oversee the procurement process and set the rules, not uniformed personnel. Civilians control the defense budget, not the uniformed personnel.

Until you're willing to pickup a weapon and come to the fight, save your "outrage" about the process of how drones are used to kill. Al Qaeda did not convict any of the women and children killed on 9-11 in a court of law either. You need to understand the difference between a law enforcement operation and war.

As a soldier of this country you should be ashamed comparing our countries standards and honor to that of our enemies. We should never want to kill civilians or innocents while we know it happens we should never justify our behavior based on that of extremists. If your only excuse is "until youv'e picked up a weapon and defended our country" basically saying "everyone else but those in uniform can go ........... themselves! You best remember it is our tax money that PAYs your salary, your education, your kids birth, your hospital bills everything you have you got as a government hand out from the civilians in this country you elitist puke!

September 27, 2012 at 5:34 pm |

Judas Priest

Soldier, dropping a bomb on a battlefield is very different from cruising around outside a combat zone, seeing something that looks like a threat, firing on it– and being wrong.
I would think someone who's been on the ground would appreciate how much better it is to be right about who you kill. Our ratio of bad guys to civilians killed in drone operations is less than one in ten, and frankly that's just not efficient. Boots and eyes on the ground mean you are that much more certain that who you're shooting is the enemy and not, say, a bunch of wedding guests.

September 27, 2012 at 5:35 pm |

Liberace; America's Greatest American

Oh, look – another bullsh!t artist attention wh0re looking for a pat on the back. Welcome back, "soldier". Now get back to work and pump that f*****g gas.

September 27, 2012 at 6:02 pm |

DRTSAT

@concernedforliberty – your comments are dead wrong. We know where our pay comes from. It come from the people we serve to defend. Even those that appear to show, for no apparent reason, disdain for the military as you appear to. Military personnel are not elitist as your comment states. And, by the way, we pay federal and state taxes as well. We're not exempt.

One way to recognize the men and women in our military would be to exempt all military pay from any taxes. That would be little enough to recognize the service of people tat could be earning far more in civilian life.

September 28, 2012 at 9:11 am |

Iraq and Afghan vet

None of you have a clue about the process of approving a drone strike and how the targets are vetted. Liberace likes to talk big with a keyboard, that's how he "fights." Very brave of you to talk down to me like you know anything about me. Brave from the safety of anonymity, but never brave enough to really fight for something.
The sad irony of serving this country is that the resultant freedoms allow people like Liberace to thrive here, people who develop an unrealistic, utopian world view which can only be born in the relative safety and comfort of a free society provided by the labors of people like me. He'll never fight for freedom, he'll just knock those who have ensured them and complain about their actions. Many countries in which I've served where people who hold opinions like yours and think like you don't last very long. Be glad you were born here. Out in the wide world noisy, defenseless animals like you end up as tomorrow's lion excrement. Now aren't you glad there are zoo keepers like me to keep those lions at bay?
No. I don't suppose you are.

Are you saying your standards of conduct are no better than that of a terrorist? Happily, Bradley Manning's are not. Neither are those of the majority of the serving military.

September 28, 2012 at 3:18 pm |

chris

do all you petty libs, who want America to fight a war with one hand tied behind our backs, realize that the enemy does not take into account the fact that they kill women and kids. our rules of engagements are already stifling. this is war. people die. the point of war is to break their will to fight. until that is done, I don't care how many we kill. if libs totally controlled everything...we'd have already been conquered by some and living under occupation because you all want to "fight fair" wfile enemies will not. yes I am a veteran. people who've never worn the uniform tend to think war is all about a old time gentlens duel or something...so naive

What you ignore is how counter-producive these wars are. Whenever we kill a Taliban or Al Quada soldier, ten more volunteer for them. If we kill a civilian, 50 more volunteer. In the end, it will be less successful than Vietnam.

September 28, 2012 at 9:15 am |

Marquise

Where was the condemnation when America dropped bombs on Iraq? Thousands of Iraqi women and children died, and we totally destroyed the infrastructure of Iraq. Too bad the Muslim extremists who plant IED aren't so conscientious. Drones have virtually dismantled Al Qeada and the Taliban. They have their suicide bombers and IED and we have our drones. All is fair in love and war.

This will probably not proceed beyond the Article 32 hearing and a sweat heart deal will be worked out. RHIP in the military, and if this were happening on the civilian side and involved someone high and mighty, they'd likely end up with a cushy resolution too.

As public as this has become, and given the criminal nature of the allegations, this retired Navy commander predicts that it will go to court martial.

When I was on active duty, a colleague who made brigadier attended a briefing for new flag officers. He said the first presenter told them that at least half of them would screw up within the first year and never make it to two stars. Most would retire, but some would wind up in Leavenworth.

The only thing you've "secured" for us is the enmity of most of the planet. Congratulations.

September 27, 2012 at 2:47 pm |

DaveNYUSA

How incredibly stupid.
Achieving the rank of Brigadier General is a long, difficult road, and to throw your entire career (not to mention entire retirement future) away for something as foolish as this is mind boggling.
Sorry, Sir, but any respect you ever had from any of your troops is now gone.

I thought military courts are different than civilians – where in that case, the person is actually guilty until proven innocent. I may be wrong, but I had a discussion about this with a professor a few weeks ago.

And until recently, anna, Americans thought it fitting to actually have a trial and a conviction before passing judgment. But apparently, now, satisfying your blood lust is more important than determining the innocence or guilt of the accused.

Because, God knows, no one has ever been falsely accused of a crime, right anna?

September 27, 2012 at 2:00 pm |

WaitaMinute

Absolutely correct. I can't imagine him being innocent if they went public with the charges, but I am not on his military jury.

Really? REALLY? You honestly believe that everyone the govt 'charges' is by definition also guilty? You need to take a look at the files of the Innocense Project. Those poor folks were 'charged and convicted' and then found to be innocent sometimes decades later. In this country we have the so called Miranda Law that outlines your rights as a citizen with regard to the police. The Miranda warning is to protect you. And just Who THE F!@# do you think you are being protected from. DUH, the police and prosecutors maybe?

Why are people so shocked? The military is a reflection of society. They (Military) try to make better citizen morally and ethically, but some people just can't learn. The military has the good, the bad and the ugly...all branches.

Lou: people are shocked because he made it so high up on the ladder and has NEVER been reprimanded... he kept on going and going and going and getting those fancy words before his name. Thats the SHOCK of it. Why has it taken this long???

I'm a little surprised to hear that as well because they were written to be such good friends. However, after watching the series numerous times, I see what he's talking about.

And, you've got my support on the innocent-until-proven-guilty thing. Horrible allegations and a detriment to our Army if they're true, but he's not been convicted yet.

Also, not impressed by Larry Shaughnessy's use of "so-called Article 32 hearing." It IS an Article 32 hearing. That's what it's called. The Army didn't make it up just for this general. Just because he's never heard of it doesn't make it fantasy.

September 27, 2012 at 1:51 pm |

RalphHau

He's a General In the Army, political appointment and yes, he is a Republican. Too bad you poor soul. However, he is a rapist any way you put it and should get the full extent of the law!

I agree Francisco... people want to voice their thoughts or opinions and often are voicing absolute ignorance!

September 27, 2012 at 12:00 pm |

ROMNEY2012

Sodomy is the devil's work, that's all we need to know. The love of the LORD will shelter us from evil, those that stray and question his LOVE will suffer the wrath of SATAN! Do not question his wisdom, for who are you to claim a higher authority than the LORD HIMSELF?!?!?

You've no clue what it is to stand a watch or serve your country. There is no excuse if this man is convicted, he should get the full extenet the UCMJ allows. Your reference to a Navy Admiral was dull-witted, ignorant comment. Go 'F' your mother.

dear ROMNEY2012
before you open your mouth to speak to your mind and use your keyboard to type a comment, please check your facts..
learn to know what the word Sodomy means. i can see that you are a strong Christian but you need to read your bible well my friend. No body is questioning God's wisdom here, so stop judging (do not judge, or you too will be judged Matthew 7:1), stop being hypocritical, people like you will have more sin than the one who turn to god and ask for forgiveness. So stop coming here and saying, "will suffer the wrath of satan" why not try to walk the walk and make sure you are without no sin. from your comments you have committed sin already BY Judging others.. so Dont.. Stop it. You are giving the rest of us as Christians a bad reputation..

FYI, you moron, no atheist is a devil worshipper. Satan is an invention of the deluded theists and doesn't exist any more than your jesus. But you're so far into your delusions that you seem incapable of ever having a coherent thought.

@Z-Man Tell me, what have I said that is not true? What you want to label as "uncivil" is only a statement of observed facts. WHen it's true, it is not an insult. If you don't like the facts, change your behavior.

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October 12, 2012 at 11:50 pm |

JTC

Rear Admiral would be a promotion, actually. But I sense you're not really interested in facts.

It's not exclusive to little boys but it should be! Why settle for an inferior experience when you can have the best?

September 27, 2012 at 12:13 pm |

mike

Statistically speaking the probability that he was buggering a man is much higher due the disproportionate number of men in the services. It could be otherwise, but I don't think that there are very many female Airborne.

At least civilian police officers are taken out of active duty until the case is investigated and charges are brought or dropped. So in the 'real' world this action and charge would tend to require the General be sent home.

September 27, 2012 at 1:43 pm |

JTC

To mike- he was. He was sent home to serve with another unit in the meantime.

September 28, 2012 at 9:34 am |

Sunflower

Bad enough he did all this stuff, but to continue to pay his salary with my (our) tax dollars is a slap in the face. Glad to see that they are at least taking it seriously. Usually command staff has things swept under the carpet...

You have no idea if he did it or not....you don't know the facts. I'm not defending him but too many people like to jump to "off with his head". If you think he shouldn't be paid remember the ass who shot 13 innocent ppl in Ft Hood in 2009 and they KNOW he did it is still getting $7000 a month in military pay because he is officially still "active" but yet his lawyers are free........

Careful Sunflower.... someone might allege you did something criminal too... would you expect a trial first? Or should we just commence with stoning or maybe the stockade based solely on the allegations, without an investigation.

Hey Sunflower - please see above comments about how the American justice system works. Innocent until proven guilty is one of the absolutes and is not true in many places in the world. And yes, he's still on active duty. If they kicked him out of the Army based on accusations, the military justice system would have no more jurisdiction. So should they make him a member of the Army Reserve on inactive status? He would still be drawing pay and doing nothing. He was relieved (fired) from his position. Yes, he's still drawing pay. What if everyone in the military who is accused of something, awaiting trial, etc were to have their pay taken away? Would you like to deal with the families? You can't make an exception just because he draws a rather hefty paycheck as a general officer. Or because you consider his crimes heinous. He's now "special assistant" to somebody at XVIIIth Abn Corps, so he's getting crap work to perform. Let the wheels of justice turn. The military justice system is quite good. It's likely he will be convicted on most of the charges, given that they apparently have enough evidence to have relieved him. If convicted on "forced sodomy", that's probably prison time and loss of his retirement. But I'm conjecturing here.

Glad to see he is already convicted. Maybe you should first ask why hes still on active duty? Perhaps there isn't enough evidence to convict him before the hearing that determines if there is even enough evidence for a trial?

You are a sick human who should ask for God's mercy for your SICK and SAD thoughts. By your logic a man r a ping a woman would basically be OK because men being with women is "natural." It is people like you - with your thoughts and actions - that have caused sickos like this General to think they can get away with this stuff in the first place. There is a HUGE difference between consensual s e x and r a p e.

P.S. The article didn't mention if the s o d o m y was of a man or a woman... you know women have a n a l too. Just sayin'

What a disgrace! And the fact that he's being treated differently than if the same charges were against an enlisted or lower ranked person is disappointing! What happened to integrity? moral character? Brig. Gen. Sinclair's behavior lacks both. He should be immediately removed from command, incarcerated until his 'trial' is complete, & hopefully dismissed from the military with NO pension or financial compensation. He is NOT a leader & violated our trust in his ability to lead with honor & integrity.

Person: You commented about military commands that leave enlisted troops in civilian jails for months awaiting civilian trials. Your implication that the military does this voluntarily is mistaken. The military does not have the authority to remove military personnel from civilian jails or prisons in the U.S. (The U.S. sometimes has such authority overseas, depending on whether it's a combat zone or, if not, on the Status of Forces Agreement with the host country. In the U.S., if a civilian judge orders a military member detained in the local jail pending trial, that's where the man stays, regardless what the military would prefer.

September 27, 2012 at 12:07 pm |

Francisco d'Anconia

Um...how do you know he's guilty? There hasn't even been a trial. If proven guilty, I'd agree, but that's not the case.

What's the matter with you? You think people should be punished without a trial? That's truly disgusting.

Francisco d'Anconia change your nick, why are you so fussy about it anyway, cause he is a USA GENERAL I bet you have different standards to all rapists. Grow up.

September 27, 2012 at 12:09 pm |

Francisco d'Anconia

Hey Dan, I don't have different standards for ANYBODY. EVERYBODY is innocent until PROVEN guilty, and EVERYBODY has the right to a fail trial.

September 27, 2012 at 12:35 pm |

Drone

Do you think all people being killed by drones are charged and found guilty in a court before being executed in their homes?You know a large percentage of these happen to be women and children.

September 27, 2012 at 3:38 pm |

Dave

@Drone and all the other people who have made idiotic political statements about the drones- Francisco was referring to an american right of freedom that every US citizen shares. You have the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. You shouldn't be so quick to allow a common right to be violated. You may need to exercise that right yourself one day. One mission that the military has been given is to develop ways to protect our military members from injuries and death. One of the top stories during the Iraq war was that the US public was outraged that the US military would send our members to war with vehicles that were not armored, substandard battle gear and NBC equipment. It was the belief that we should protect our members from injury. Now the government has developed a way to protect our members by using drones but it is considered ungentlemanly because of the nature of use. US military was not the one that took the war off the battlefields. Terrorists took the war to the populated cities to promote terror and we are battling it the best way we can with remote controlled drones. War is not kind or gentlemanly. No matter how you look at it there will be loss of life and unfortunately due to the nature of war today there will be a loss of innocent life. Unfortunately drones are not the most accurate means of war but luckily they are a symbol of deterrence. One last thought, do you think the Libyan ambassador was tried and convicted before he and 3 other people people were killed. They were killed simply because they were Americans. There are people in this world that will kill you simply because you are american and we have to combat that with any means possible. Any loss of life is tragic, but I would prefer that our military members stay safe and I believe a drone is the best solution for that at this time.

And if allegations are not true, then what. He and his family have been embarrassed for the world to see?

September 27, 2012 at 11:38 am |

Bruce

As a retired Air Force member I can truly say RHIP (rank has its privileges), meaning that had he been an enlisted person his butt would have been in the brig while he awaits his trail. Something is worng with this picture when you get treated differently for the same crime in the military.

Yep your right been military wife 18 yrs seen it many many times and I'm on the "outside" so imagine what the soldiers actually see. The military isn't any different than any other "job or company" out there bad people,butt sucking people,good people,hard working people.......but the media does tend to want to make the military personal look like the nastiest trash there is....js

September 27, 2012 at 12:02 pm |

SEMPERFI1775

You are totally correct in saying RHIP, however, Since he is an officer you know damn near takes an act of congress to demote him. Their contracts are different and there are distinct parts of the UCMJ for officers and for enlisted. He will get the conduct unbecoming, forced to retire and live happily ever after. Sad but true bro.

It will be like most officer cases. It will be swept under the rug, he'll be forced to retire and collect his 6 thousand dollar a month retirement, while all the enlisted people he stepped on, or got injured, or killed following his orders have to fight for what little money they can get from the government to survive while he'll be smiling and eating well.

As the US has approved the unnatural phenomenon of "gay" marriage, should the General have firstly offered to marry his victim? In that scenario the "bottom line" would be that the issue would be nothing more than a 'marital spat' and he could have quite happily stayed militarily in the rear

@tgm Tell me, exactly how does gay marriage harm anyone? They only answers I have ever heard to that all come down to, "It's an abomination!" or in other words, "It offends me so I want it banned for everyone!"

FYI, sodomy does not mean only anal intercourse, which can be a M-F act too, but can also be defined as anything such as oral intercourse that does not involve the possibility of procreation. It's another religious rule the theists insist upon forcing on everyone.

Furthermore, in most states, statutes against sodomy have either been struck down by court rulings or have been unenforced for s long that only the most obtuse of prosecutors would even attempt to bring those charges against anyone.

September 27, 2012 at 3:18 pm |

Ekaterina Kaverina

Marriage is holy matrimony blessed by a priest. Anything else is a civil union. Last I heard, the Reformation movement did away with the apostolic succession and the Protestant organizations have no priests, only lay preachers. So any objections against gay marriage are just hot air.

Ekaterina: What a fascinating comment. Apart from the unusual nature of a reference to apostolic succession or the lack therof, are you contending that Protestant ministers don't have the authority to conduct "real" marriages?

September 27, 2012 at 12:23 pm |

tgm

So you feel it is a bummer that he has been brought to face any charges? I feel that despite a rump of support for his allleged unnatural practices, a good head of military justice shall prevail.

September 27, 2012 at 3:16 pm |

Ryan

An Army brigadier general has been charged with forcible sodomy and having inappropriate relationships with several female subordinates, two U.S. defense officials said Wednesday.
He's also been charged with multiple counts of adultery.

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CNN's Security Clearance examines national and global security, terrorism and intelligence, as well as the economic, military, political and diplomatic effects of it around the globe, with contributions from CNN's national security team in Washington and CNN journalists around the world.